title: [Retinitis pigmentosa: eye sight restoration by optogenetic therapy].
abstract: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a hereditary retinal disease leading to blindness, which affects two million people worldwide. Restoring vision in these blind patients was proposed by gene delivery of microbial light-activated ionic channels or pumps "optogenetic proteins" to transform surviving cells into artificial photoreceptors. This therapeutic strategy was validated in blind animal models of RP by recording at the level of the retina and cortex and by behavioural tests. The translational potentials of these optogenetic approaches have been evaluated using in vitro studies on post-mortem human retinal tissues. Here, we review these recent results and discuss the potential clinical applications of the optogenetic therapy for RP patients.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66F, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Botond
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roska
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Busskamp
authors.forename: José Alain
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sahel
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Picaud
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D062308:Optogenetics / Q000379:methods*; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D012038:Regeneration / Q000235:genetics; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000235:genetics